


interlude: paralysis

by UnrememberedSkies



Series: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea [4]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Aftermath, Disassociation, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Theatre Metaphors, non-explicit gore, perceived character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-02-25 06:02:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21631318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnrememberedSkies/pseuds/UnrememberedSkies
Summary: Ben is watching a play. He is sat in the unseen darkness of the stalls, looking up at the lit stage, waiting for the players to begin. His only role in the play is to observe, he cannot interact with the players, he cannot change the events that play out, he cannot share information that he knows, but they are unaware of.
Series: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1479443
Comments: 36
Kudos: 195





	interlude: paralysis

**Author's Note:**

> The immediate aftermath of 'blood of the covenant'. Find me on [Tumblr](https://unrememberedskies.tumblr.com/)!

Ben is watching a play. He is sat in the unseen darkness of the stalls, looking up at the lit stage, waiting for the players to begin. His only role in the play is to observe, he cannot interact with the players, he cannot change the events that play out, he cannot share information that he knows, but they are unaware of.

The stage design is simple: a bedroom, the bed in disarray, an ashtray and cigarette stubs on the dresser, no flourishes, no personal touches. It is dimly lit by a single lamp, and shadows pool in the corners.

Then there’s the body. The blood that is splattered on every surface. It silently dominates the room and Ben can’t look anywhere else.

The play begins _in media res_. He, the audience, has come in halfway through the action, he is on the back foot, and has to piece together what has come before.

_Has to piece together his body._

There is the sound of muffled shouting, Luther’s voice calling out Klaus’s name. The door bursts open, and Ben watches carefully the sequence of emotions that cross Luther’s face.

Fear. Shock. Realisation. Horror. Grief.

Luther sags against the doorframe. There are more voices, coming from behind him, raised in fear and confusion. Diego manages to push past Luther, an unstoppable force against an immovable object. He freezes at the scene before him, his eyes widening and his whole body starting to tremble as he takes it in, puts the pieces together.

A shaky breath, followed by a sob. Then Diego is on his knees before the pieces of the body, face screwed up in pain and cheeks wet with tears. 

Allison and Vanya follow him in. Allison covers her mouth with her hand as her gaze falls on the body. She shakes her head in furious denial even as tears drip silently down her cheeks.

Vanya stares at the body, her soft, broken “Klaus” heard even above Diego’s sobs.

_Klaus._

_What have you done?_

Five is the last to enter. He is already frowning, and that doesn’t change as he assesses the scene before him, but Ben can see the minute clenching of his jaw, the tremors in his frame, the guilt in his eyes.

For several long moments it is like they are frozen in a tableau of grief. They are paralysed by shock and pain. 

Ben understands their grief, it is raw in their eyes. He knows, on some level, that he should be feeling the same thing. He should be sharing in this moment with them, even if they can’t see him. They are united by their pain but Ben feels so far away, all the way in the back row, in the darkness, unheard and unseen.

Unfeeling.

_He is a monster that looks like a man. He killed the only person who matters._

The tableau unfreezes. Diego wipes a hand across his eyes. “This is your fault,” he says, and it is unclear who he is speaking to until he turns around to look directly at the Five. “You did this.”

Five says nothing, just stares at him with a hollow look in his eyes. Diego gets to his feet, and Allison instinctively moves in front of the boy.

“Diego,” she says warningly.

Diego points past her, at Five. “He drove Ben to this.”

Ben, the villain of the piece. It is a terribly bland name for someone capable of such monstrosity.

“How is this helping?” Allison demands.

“We should move him,” Luther says, quietly, more to himself than anyone else in the room. Vanya looks across at him, but says nothing.

Diego steps forward, into Allison’s outstretched arm, and leans down to speak in a low, shaking voice to the silent Five. “You’re the reason Klaus is dead.”

“Diego, enough!” Allison puts a hand on Diego’s chest, half restraining and half comforting. Diego bristles at the gesture but doesn’t try to fight it. Tears are still rolling down his cheeks. He doesn’t seem to be aware of them. Five looks at him with an unreadable expression.

“We can’t leave him like this,” Luther says, with a little more volume this time, although his voice still shakes.

“No,” Vanya says. “We should move him.” She doesn’t move, though. None of them do. 

This is it, Ben realises. The play is over. The actors are waiting for applause. There is no dramatic reveal or big climax. There is only this, the long silences and the paralysis. It is short and pointless. A perfect metaphor for life.

Ben gets up from his seat and walks away, into the darkness. The light from the room, the shadows of the figures within, getting smaller and smaller as he gets further away.

He can walk away. Just walk away.

_He can’t walk away._

**Author's Note:**

> I dunno, guys, I jut had to get this one out. If you, too, like pain, please drop me a kudos or a comment!


End file.
